The North Carolina Collection preserves and makes available the historical record of the city and county of Durham. You'll find a wealth of materials to assist with researching North Carolina-related topics as well as several online exhibits.

Homework Help

Having trouble with your homework? Here is a list of databases available to help you from home arranged by the type of assignment. If you need a live person to help you with your homework, check our program calendar for homework help at different library branches. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please call your local library location. If you are a teacher and would like to arrange for a librarian to come to your school and show how to use any of these resources, teach information literacy skills, or talk about online safety, please call 919-560-0111 or email kmakens@dconc.gov.

Key to Symbols

Available from any computer with Internet access. Available from any computer with a library card. Available from any computer with a library card, provided by NC LIVE. Available from any computer within a library building.

Brainfuse HelpNow
Live, on-demand tutoring for a large number of subjects. With HelpNow, tutors and students work together in real-time in an online classroom by typing, drawing, and marking-up lessons and web content. Plus, students can share files in the writing lab to submit writing assignments to writing tutors any time of the day. The Brainfuse full-service test center offers practice tests for all levels in math, reading, and writing as well as college preparatory tests – including the SAT. More info…

These databases have articles written at a level for a younger child, suitable for most elementary school assignments.

Kids InfoBits
Elementary students can search for information on current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports, and more. It includes easy-to-understand articles from over one hundred children’s magazines, newspapers, and reference books.

National Geographic Kids
Full issues of National Geographic Kids magazine from 2009-present (3 month embargo). You’ll also find hundreds National Geographic Kids books, kid-friendly images and videos and a section to explore topics such as animals, the environment, places and more.

SIRS Discoverer
SIRS Discoverer is a general reference database for elementary and middle school learners, researchers, and educators covering curriculum areas content sets such as reading, language arts, current events, science, social studies, history, health and technology. (Note: If you are in a library building, click here to access SIRS Discoverer without needing to enter your library card number.)

SIRS Knowledge Source
Articles, primary sources, websites and graphics to support K-12 students with research, study and homework.

Do you have an assignment where you need to argue your point of view on a controversial issue, such as gun control? Then these databases will give you many reliable sources.

CQ Researcher
Explains both sides of controversial issues in the news and gives reliable facts to let you decide for yourself how you feel about a topic. These are the same articles which appear in the print version of CQ Researcher. This database will also generate its own citations in APA, Bluebook, Chicago Manual or MLA format.

SIRS Knowledge Source
Covering the Leading Issues most studied and debated by students. Once you are at the main SIRS Knowledge Source page, click “ProQuest SIRS® Issues Researcher” to research issues.

Do you need information about how life was during a certain time period, and/or a certain country? Do you need quick facts about a country?

Credo
Reliable, factual information about a country including maps and flags from the CIA World Factbook.

CultureGrams
Links students to country reports that go beyond mere facts and figures to deliver a one-of-a-kind perspective on daily life and culture. In-depth reports covering 200+ countries, the United States, and Canada. More info…

Daily Life Online
This database provides coverage of history, geography, social customs, family life, leisure, arts, food, clothing, religion, holidays of over seventy countries from around the world from the 4th century CE to the present. This is a good source if you are doing a paper about what life was like during a certain time period or you need to know about customs, food, etc for another country in the present day.

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History
Covers all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to the present day. Using biographies, historical essays, and thematic pieces, many written by foremost scholars, it addresses a wide array of subjects in over 2,300 articles to define in one source the cultural roots, participation in American life, and current condition of the African-American community. (Scroll down to find encyclopedia.)

UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes
Provides detailed studies of tribes from all over the United States and Canada, including small tribes and some that no longer exist. Gives detailed yet accessible information on history, religion, art, government, economy, daily life and current social and political issues.

Pronunciator
Pronunciator is an online language-learning service that covers 75 languages, including English as a Second Language (ESL). Learn how to speak a foreign language with the help of pronunciation analysis, virtual coaches, simulated conversations, scored quizzes, and downloadable audio lessons and phrasebooks. Courses are designed for children and adults from beginners to advanced learners. More info…

Credo
Do you need a foreign language dictionary? Get dictionaries in nine different languages translated to English. Click on bilinguals after entering Credo to see the foreign language dictionaries.

Novelist K-8
Reader’s advisory service for fiction and nonfiction titles, designed to support kids’ pleasure reading and school work. Searchable by author, title, series name, plot and lexile level. Includes author read-alikes and lists of award-winners. More info…

If you need an article from a local paper from the late nineties to the present, or from the New York Times from 1985 to the present, you can start here. If you need an older article, come in to the Main Library on the second floor for help. This is a small list of what is available, if you need more help, please come in or call your local library location.

Infotrac Newsstand
Full text access to more than 1,100 major U.S. regional, national, and local newspapers, as well as thousands of images and radio and TV transcripts. Includes full text of The New York Times (1985-present).

Magazine and Journal Title List
Check here to see if NC LIVE carries a particular magazine or journal title that you would like to read online. If you can’t find the right title, ask a librarian or call 919-560-0110 for help.

New York Times
Provides full text access to New York Times (1980-current), New York Times Magazine (1997-current), and New York Times Book Review (1997-current).

ProQuest Central
General reference database for over 175 subjects from magazines, journals and newspapers, including peer-reviewed and scholarly works.

ProQuest Newsstand
News content from many national and international newspapers, newswires and selected news magazines.

Documenting the American South
DocSouth includes books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews and songs related to southern history, literature, and culture.

North Carolina Collection
Durham County Library has a large archive which can help with many local history questions. While some of the collection is available on the website, some things are only available in the building. Please call 919-560-0171 if you have any questions.

North Carolina Encyclopedia
This is a good place to get reliable information about the state of North Carolina. Maintained by the North Carolina State Library.

AccessScience
9,000+ encyclopedia articles and research updates, plus videos, animations, charts, and images, as well as biographies of scientists.

Credo
Contains the full text articles from many different reference books devoted to all areas of science including astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, geology, physics and more. While you will not find suggestions for science experiments, you can find the background information you need for your project after you have decided on your topic.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, Encyclopedia of Biomes, and more. This is a good place to get quick, reliable information about most science topics.

Grzimek’s Student Animal Life Resource
This resource book offers broad, comprehensive coverage of the animal kingdom, ranging from the simple — sponges and corals — to the complex — mammals. Animals are grouped by major classifications: sponges; corals; jellyfishes; segmented worms; crustaceans and mollusks; insects; fishes; amphibians; reptiles; birds; and mammals. (Scroll down to find the resource.)

LearningExpress
Are you going to take the SATs, ACTs, or AP exams, or are you struggling in school and need to practice skills for the North Carolina End of Course Exams? This database has free online classes and practice exams to help you score higher. More info…